Curiouser and curiouser!
by Lost Down A Rabbit Hole
Summary: My first fanfic :) The hunger games has been mixed with TID characters and they must fight to survive in the deadly arena, unless of course they've recently fallen down an inconvenient rabbit hole. The world of dreams can be just as deadly.
1. Introducing Tessa

In, out. In, out. In, out.

_Just breathe Tessa. Breathe._

In, out. In, out.

Her heart pounded frantically within her ears, as if trying to out-beat the thrum of her feet on the solid earth below.

In, out. In, out. In, out

"No!"

Her knees crumpled just in time as flames licked hungrily right above her ears; sending her body sprawling across the forest floor. A bundle of bruised sinew and battered bones. How easy it would be to just lie here. To just give up.

_No_.

She was stronger than this. She had to be.

Dragging her feet up and over the leaf litter threatening to suck her back down, she scrambled her way up the bank. A network of tree roots doing their best to entrap her already struggling limbs.

*BOOM*

"AHHH!" Hot cinders and burning branches rained down upon her back as the tree beside her went up in a blaze. The fireball having only just missed her shoulder.

"AHHH! AHAHAAA!" Tessa whimpered as burning debris cut through the thin material covering her thigh and left a burning trail of sparking ash across her skin.

_Please, please just make it stop_

She would have cried if there were time. Instead all she could do was tumble down the other side of the bank as the roots finally succeeded in bringing her down.

_Please, please. Nate I miss you, please make it stop._

She couldn't afford to waste time so it was straight back up as she regained control of her tumbling body. Dodging another ball of fire she headed further down towards the faint sound of rushing water making it past the noise of the thick blood rushing through her veins.

_Water, yes! If I can just make it to the water…_

Bubbles rushed up her nose as she fell head first into the bliss-filled depths

_Cold, so cold. So lovely and cold._

"_Tessa! Tessa!"_

_Nate's anxious calls came drifting through the wall of leaves that surrounded Tessa's little den, interrupting her Tennyson-induced reverie. She sighed, a happy smile playing along her usually solemn features. Not even Mr spoilt-rotten could ruin her good mood today. A splintering noise split the heavy air to her right and Tessa leant sideways to turn dreamy eyes to the golden-haired, rather cross looking boy that was struggling to push his head through the tangled twigs. _

"_Oh Nate I'm glad you've come, do listen to this:_

_Flow down, cold rivulet, to the sea, Thy tribute wave deliver: No more by thee my steps shall be, For ever and for ever. Flow, softly flow, by lawn and lea, A rivulet then a river: Nowhere by thee my steps shall be For ever and for ever. But here will sigh thine alder tre - -"_

"_ENOUGH!" Cried a flustered Nate, hands flailing uselessly amongst the claw-like branches that protected his sister's sun-drenched hide-away. "I didn't come out here to listen to your silly poetry!"_

_Caught between amusement and annoyance Tessa chose simply to sit and watch her brother's doomed struggle. She had decided at a very young age that it was extremely rude to interrupt someone whilst they were reciting; however she had long known that Nate paid very little attention to her rules of good behaviour so she had learnt not to expect any more of him._

"_You do realise that there is actually an entrance" Tessa remarked looking down upon her brother's fruitless struggle._

_All motion ceased as Nate turned a grim expression upon the vision of serenity that was his younger sibling._

"_A what?" He asked, in icy tones._

"_Entrance" replied Tessa, unperturbed by his stony glare. "But don't mind that, you're doing a wonderful job of opening a new one up for me. I could even use it as an escape route in case a forest fire blocked up the original" she mused. "Could be quite handy"_

_Looking up through the twigs into Tessa's devilish smile Nate simply huffed and slumped down against the small flattened area he had created in the side of her bush-wall of all things scratchy._

"_Honestly Tessa couldn't you be a little mo—"_

"_Sympathetic?" she finished for him, her forehead creasing slightly. "You want me to help you?"_

"_Yes that's exactly what I'd like" He replied! His tone brightening at her apparent change of heart. "What would be even nicer is if you'd go out hunting sometime soon! My foot's aching again and I haven't had a decent meal in days" His voice took on a slightly accusing note as he further pondered the injustice of his situation. "In fact it must have been at least a week since I've had any proper meat, all you've caught is some stringy hare or rabbit."_

_Tessa let her breath slide slowly out as her head fell back against the familiar bark of an ash tree. And to think that she'd had such high hopes for today. One more look at her brother's plaintive expression and she closed her book in resignation._

"_Oh all right then"_


	2. Introducing Will

She woke up choking. Turning on her side, she managed to expel some of the water from her lungs, her body heaving before collapsing back onto… Grass?

"Don't worry; I'm not going to hurt you."

Scrambling backwards Tessa turned towards the voice.

"Will? What are yo-"

"Shh! keep your voice down!"

She went to bring her legs into a crouch but was brought to an abrupt stop as a deep, searing pain shot through her leg; drawing a strangled gasp from her already straining lungs.

"I suggest you try not to move either. That burn looks nasty." He commented, sparing her thigh a cursory glance before continuing to peer out from behind a large boulder; there were three of them, one for each side with a small gap where Will was standing, sheltering them from view.

_At least we're safe_

"Thanks for warning me now" she replied, her lip curling as she surveyed the singed flesh.

"Don't mention it." He replied, a slight smile in his voice.

She slowly straightened her leg along the ground, then realising her pack was no longer on her back, threw her eyes franticly around the enclosed area, before sighing in relief as she spotted it tucked down against the wall.

"Some good stuff you've got in there." Will said, noticing the movement and finally turning his head to face her. "Useful."

"Yeah… You got anything good?" She asked. "Burn salve perhaps?"

His eyes crinkled slightly. "Unfortunately not."

"Guess that would've been just a little too convenient" She replied, a small smile on her lips, not sure how to act now that they were inside the arena.

"You know I onl-"

"I'm sorry I didn -"

They spoke as one.

"You go first" he said, tipping his head forward slightly, not sure where to look.

"What I meant to say was… just… thanks, I guess." She paused to look back up at him. "You didn't have to help me. You should have just left me, but… I guess I'm glad you didn't."

Smiling a little sadly he let out a long breath.

"I almost did. But the careers were there and I just… it's the worst way to go, you know? With them, I mean, by… them." He stumbled on his words slightly.

"Was… Jem?"

"Yeah" he sighed "I don't think they were too pleased with him though, as I pulled you further downstream I think, I'm not sure but I think one of them started shouting at him and—"

She cringed. "It's ok." Letting her shoulders fall back a little to rest against one of the boulders as she spoke. "He made his decision."

Will nodded.

"So, is it true then…?"

"That we're in love?" She smirked but the humour didn't really reach her eyes. "I was as surprised as you when he announced it."

Will's head came up, eyes peeking through his tangled hair. "Oh."

_Was that a smile?_

"It's getting dark." He said suddenly

"Yeah. I'm guessing you don't have any blankets either?"

"That would be correct." He smiled.

_He has the sweetest smile._

_Shut up Tessa, emotions just complicate things. _

Her situation was already complicated enough. And now she was cold.

_Great_

Will leant closer, leaning his shoulder against hers. The change in temperature was immediate, warmth slowly creeping up her side and spreading through her chest… and maybe just a little up her cheeks.

"Just for tonight" He whispered, pulling her slowly down and snuggling her into the side of his chest.

"Why didn't you leave me?" She asked quietly as her eyelids dragged slowly lower, the weight of today's events pulling her quickly towards the rising darkness.

"I couldn't do that Tess, I just… I couldn't do that to you."

His troubled eyes staring blindly upwards were the last things she saw before her lids shut tight and exhaustion took hold.

"_What the HELL do you think you're doing!?" Tessa screamed, grey eye's staring furiously through Jem's silver. _

"_You're in LOVE with me? What sort of shit are you trying to pull! This is THE GAMES Jem, people DIE and you go around making me look like some sort of weak, love-sick CHILD! Her voice rising in pitch as Jem stumbled further backwards against the corridor wall, but she just kept advancing on him, arms raised._

"_TESSA!" Haymitch came striding round the corner grabbing her back off the startled Jem and shoving her against the opposite wall. "He was doing you a favour darling!" His snarl low, for her ears only._

"_I don't need any help from him, not that kind." She hissed back, equally fierce._

_Her head snapped to the side as footsteps turned the corner once more._

"_Will…" Her voice hitched slightly. Haymitch slowly set her back down, his hands uncurling from the fabric of her dress._

_Will's expression was unfathomable, body taut, as he switched from first her face, to Jem's._

"_Move along Herondale" Haymitch's voice held more caution now rather than anything else._

"_Of course. I didn't mean to intrude on such a… personal moment."_

Emotionless Tessa. Feelings hurt. Remain, emotionless.

_The blues eyes closed, leaving her far behind, alone. Her faint hold on the memory leaving with them until all that was left was the sound of hard shoes against the tiled corridor floor. Moving further and further away._


	3. She woke up cold

She woke up cold, arm reaching across over empty grass.

"Will?" She sat up, panicked eyes scanning their small alcove, her breath blowing out like smoke in the chilly air.

"Will, please!"

But he was nowhere to be seen, the imprint of his back marked out by the flattened grass was the only sign that he'd been there at all. She pressed her hand to the still-warm earth.

_Not gone long then._

She knew she shouldn't have gotten attached and she _knew_ that he was right to leave. But knowing these things were for the best never stopped them from hurting.

_Better to just forget about him, I have far too much to worry about already. I just need to concentrate on surviving._

And with that thought she clamped down hard on the little hole that had opened inside her heart. Wrapping it tight and sending it to the back of her mind.

Forcing her eyes closed tight and her lips into a thin line she slowly stretched her injured leg.

"ah!" Her breath drew in quickly. It had gotten all puffy overnight.

_Better find my way back to the stream. _

Her stomach grumbled, pulling her features down into a grimace

_And maybe go foraging on the way…_

Her last meal had been almost 24 hours ago. She dragged her aching body carefully up until she was hunched over inside the small alcove; she reached over and eased her backpack onto her shoulders, sore from spending the night on the ground. A sudden thought sent her head peering out the opening. She had no idea where she was.

Her eyes strained as she hurriedly scanned the scene before her. She seemed to be perched on a small flat area half-way up a slope, more boulders were scattered in random spots below her, creating dents in the ground as if thrown there by a giant. The slope dropped off suddenly into what she assumed must be the river, but it was too far down to see anything but the faint outline of trees on the opposite bank.

_He carried me all the way up here? And then just left? No._

She wouldn't think about him. She couldn't.

Checking to make sure there was no one in sight, she whispered a quick goodbye to the rocks who had sheltered her for the night, and moved off swiftly until she reached the protective shadow of a near-bye boulder. She couldn't run so it looked like she'd have to take things slow for now, and be _very_ careful.

**Will's POV**

He was right to leave. Of course he was. This was the hunger games. He should have _killed_ her! No one is your friend inside the dome. Even the careers didn't _like_ each other.

He paused "I was right to leave." He announced to the silent forest, almost hoping for an answer. But of course there was no reply. He stumbled further through the trees, his words repeating like a mantra in his head.

_I was right to leave. I was right to leave. I was right to leave._

Over and over and over

_I was right to leave. I was right to leave. I was right to leave. _

Until the words themselves began to sound silly, like when you say banana too many times and you begin to wonder who on earth decided to call a piece of fruit Banana. Ba-Na-Na

_I was right to leave. I was right to leave. I-was-right-to-leave._

**A shorter chapter than the others but it felt like an ending. **

**No flashback either so next chapter will probably begin with one.**

**Hope you liked it :) Any criticism is welcome, I'd like to know what I should do to make it better.**


	4. A Friend

"_Thwak!"_

_The satisfying sound of an arrow striking its target resonated through the momentarily silent forest. The peaceful air was short-lived however as any nearby birds, having heard the ominous sound, took to the sky. Their beating wings and shrieking cries shattering any peace left to the mist-filled forest air. Dawn was always Tessa's favourite hunting time._

"_Nice shot." Gideon whispered, eyes trained on her fallen prey several metres in front. "How many is that now?"_

"_Five. We've done well this morning." She grinned, beginning to jog towards the lifeless bird, partially covered by low-lying scrub._

"_Enough to get that book of yours?"_

"_Definitely." Tessa's eyes lit up at the thought, her fingers already itching to flick through the well-worn pages. However, for now at least, she had other things to do. She yanked the arrow swiftly from its bloodied corpse, wiping it through nearby grass before replacing it in her quiver. Handing the bird over to Gideon she stood up and surveyed the area, scuffing dirt roughly over the rust-coloured stains they'd left behind before turning to follow her friend._

"_Does Nate know about the deal?" he asked, turning his head slightly towards her as she caught him up._

_Tessa snorted. "It's my meat I can do with it as I please."_

"_Good." He smiled back at her "Finally." His eyes crinkling further as she shoved him lightly to the side. _

"_I'm not doing it just for you."_

"_Oh of course not, no, I'm sure my encouragement had nothing to do with this new-found backbone of yours." He smirked. "Way to boost a guy's ego."_

"_Whatever." She smiled, grey eyes light for once._

**Flash Forward**

_Tessa handed her three birds over to the small, hunched women sitting behind the market stall. Her wrinkled face pulled up in a smile, grimy complexion only deepening the familiar lines._

"_Took your time." She announced, her voice pleased none-the-less. _

"_You know as well as I that it's useless going hunting in the rain." Tessa replied, eyes searching the tangle of objects that lay on the creaking table. "You still have it don't you?" She looked up quickly into the woman's brown eyes, a deep brown that could almost be mistaken for black._

"_Of course she frowned, who do you take me for?" And so saying she reached down into the tangle of cloth that hid her battered frame and withdrew the plain leather cover of a well-worn novel._

"_Oh thanks" Tessa grinned, reaching forward eagerly._

"_Not many of these left around." the woman mused as she handed it over. "Not like they're much use anyway" she continued. "Not many literate folk left in these parts."_

"_My father taught me." Tessa spoke briefly, her mind already absorbed in the tiny treasure. That her face remained happy at the mention of Dorin Everdeen spoke volumes about how important this book was to her._

"_Thank you." Tessa glanced up once more before turning back to the grinning Gideon. Smiling shyly up she shoved him once more before walking past, her nose already buried in the opening pages. He turned as well to watch her go, but the smile was quickly wiped from his face as he caught sight of a furious Nate, limping towards the unsuspecting girl._

"_Is that another one of your INFERNAL books?" He cried, grabbing the offending object as Tessa jumped backwards in surprise, but she was quick to recover._

"_Give. It. Back." She hissed, voice low so as not to attract any more attention. "It's not yours; you have no right to touch it!"_

"_You can't keep going around wasting precious food on TOYS!" He glared, "These BOOKS" He almost spat the word. "Are no use to us. That food is what keeps us alive! Pay attention to what's necessary!"_

"_ME? Pay attention, ME!"_

"_Yes you! Have you forgotten how hard it is just to survive?!"_

"_I can't live like this Nate." Tessa threw back. "Just 'surviving'! I can't do it, I want something MORE . Just eat, work, sleep, eat, work, sleep, Life is MORE than that! I want to LIVE Nate!" Her voice rose as she jabbed her brother furiously in the chest. "All you do is sit around or go off with all your girls and expect me to feed you and look after you and tend to your every need!" Each word punctured by another jab in the chest. "You use that DAMN leg of yours to get out of doing ANYTHING! I look after EVERYTHING and then as soon as I want one small pleasure you go SHOUTING at me! This is my ESCAPE Nate! My one way out of this hell hole don't you DARE try and take this from me." Tessa's stormy eyes locked blindly onto her brother's as she finished, daring him to speak. _

_Looking around furiously at the crowd that had begun to gather he shoved back the book and simply hissed; "This is not. Over." before pushing out of the circle of faces. Leaving Tessa, body crumpled now that her passion was spent, to close her eyes tight and sink slowly to the ground, book clasped tightly in her arms._

"_Bastard" Gideon glared as he joined her on the ground._

"_He doesn't mean it." Tessa whispered, eyes still closed, head downcast. "He's not normally like this."_

_Gideon's face was sceptical but he kept to silence. This was a fight he was never going to win._

"_Thanks for not hitting him this time though." Tessa said after a few moments. Finally looking up as the memory of Nate's shocked face tugged a half-hearted smile onto her lips. This brought Gale's attention back from the task of glaring at the few curious faces that remained nearby. He grinned and rubbed his knuckles slightly; _

"_It was a close thing."_

_Tessa choked out a laugh at that, smiling despite herself up at the man sitting in the dirt beside her._

It was good to have a friend.

**Current time**

Tessa dragged herself slowly out of the dream. Eyes damp.

It was not how she wanted to remember her brother.

**A full flashback chapter this time, I felt like her background needed to be fleshed out a bit.**

**I promise there will be more Will next chapter! :)**


End file.
